‘Everything Is Love’ takes its shot at the NFL over Colin Kaepernick Jay-Z joins these rappers in throwing shade at the league, the NCAA and NBA

‘Everything Is Love’ takes its shot at the NFL over Colin Kaepernick Jay-Z joins these rappers in throwing shade at the league, the NCAA and NBA

I learned two things from Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s surprise joint album Everything Is Love.

The first thing I learned was that love truly conquers all. Beyoncé really shouldn’t have taken Hov back. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing black power couples — especially those that have half a mind to avoid the spotlight. But six years into their marriage, Solange famously beat the brakes off of Hov in an elevator. Whatever he did, it most likely warranted that reaction, if not more.

The second thing I learned was that The Carters are rich! From shooting videos at the Louvre like it’s nothing to throwing shade at the Grammys, it seems that the Carters have entered into a whole new level of wealth. The most explicit shot, however, was hurled at the NFL, with Jay-Z declaring it needs him more than the other way around. That line got me thinking. How often do artists criticize the governing bodies of professional and amateur sports? The answer: more than you might expect.

Below is a list of songs in which artists take jabs at some aspect of amateur or professional sports — and yes, there’s a lot of Colin Kaepernick:

French Montana, “Dance Move (feat. Fabolous & Wale)” (2012): “I think the NFL must think I’m a damn fool/ Every time I touch down I bust a dance move/ They used to have a movement now they can’t move (Fabolous)

Eminem “Campaign Speech” (2016)
“At a traffic stop gettin’ harassed, sign an autograph/ For this a—– cop’s daughter/ Laugh ’cause I called her a brat on it/ He spat on it and brought it back lookin’ half in shock/ Had a heart attack and dropped dead/ Started fallin’ back with it/ And got slapped with a Colin Kaepernick practice sock“

“Know you’ve been on my mind like Kaepernick kneelin’/ Or police killings, or Trump sayin’ slick s—/ Manipulatin’ poor white folks because they ignant/ Blind to the struggles of the ones that got the pigment” (J. Cole)